Thursday, April 28, 2011

Secret Origins: The Sub-Mariner by Thomas, Andru, and Severin

Greetings, Groove-ophiles! In 1939 Marvel Comics got its start with a mostly-forgotten group of characters, but a few of those characters, The Human Torch, Ka-Zar, and today's subject, Prince Namor the Sub-Mariner, caught the imaginations of enough folks to keep them around in some form or another for the better part of 70 years. Bill Everett's Sub-Mariner, though never as popular as later Marvel creations like Captain America or Spider-Man, has made his presence felt in every decade, his popularity ebbing and flowing like the ocean waves that spawned him.

Personally, Ol' Groove has always dug Prince Namor. His powers, his regal bearing, those crazy eyebrows, pointy ears, and ankle-wings made him kinda cool. I think what really sold me on him was the Roy Thomas version from the early 70s. Roy made Subby seem as majestic and important (though not as cosmic) as the Mighty Thor. Just dig on Roy's regal retelling of Namor's origin (with impeccable art by Ross Andru and John Severin) from Sub-Mariner #38 (March 1971).





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4 comments:

  1. BooksteveApril 28, 2011 at 12:05 AM

    Andru and Severin was an odd combination. Although John made anyone's pencils look a zillion times better, I can't say it always worked with Andru's layouts.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Mike MikulovskyApril 28, 2011 at 12:47 AM

    Groovy! I always loved the Sub-Mariner as well. Funny I never got sick of seeing him invading the surface world every 3-5 years. I never understood where his winged ankles came from though.

    This series ended way too soon. I remember the day I read picked up & read issue #72. Only to find out there was to be no #74 Sigh! What a revolt'in development that was. I always loved the fact Namor was arrogant & a hothead like Hercules. More Subby please! Impreus Rex!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Mike D.April 28, 2011 at 10:07 AM

    Man..it never gets old....I could read that issue a zillion times and it'll always put a smile on my face

    ReplyDelete
  4. David PortaApril 29, 2011 at 3:28 PM

    So, the original undersea Atlanteans were tiny ant-size aquamen who fought the mighty crawfish? Crawdaddies? Really? Really?

    ReplyDelete

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Special thanks to Mike's Amazing World of Comics and Grand Comics Database for being such fantastic resources for covers, dates, creator info, etc. Thou art treasures true!


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